INDIANAPOLIS — It's heartbreaking when a dog owner has to surrender their senior dog because they can no longer care for them, but a shelter is not where you hope an aging pup lives out their final days.
Indianapolis resident Chelle Allen started her own rescue, called Silver Snout Senior Dog Rescue, to save as many senior dogs as she can.
Allen started the central Indiana rescue in 2022 after volunteering to foster at another senior dog rescue, Taffy's Touch.
Allen said most of the dogs that end up in a shelter are in a situation they've never experienced.
"Most of these dogs, especially the seniors, they're scared to death. A lot of them have been in a home they've been in with their loved ones for a long time, so being in a shelter where it's loud, they're stuck in a crate for most of the day," Allen said.
Shelters will call Silver Snout Senior Dog Rescue when they get a senior dog that's been surrender by an owner.
Megan Bongmann is fostering Tinkerbell, who just came to the rescue.
"They just really need a warm place to stay. They need a soft place to lay their heads, especially senior dogs," Bongmann said. "They just want a place to lay down that's quiet and calm."
One of the biggest needs for rescues like Silver Snout Senior Dog Rescue — and pretty much all rescues — is foster families. A lot of people think there's going to be a lot of cost involved, but Silver Snout Senior Dog Rescue covers it all.
"I think there's some questions around that a lot of people don't understand that the rescue pays for everything," Allen said. "[Foster families] just have to take the dogs in and love on them. It's really just that simple."
Allen said fostering is very rewarding when seeing the changes in the dog after being rescued and loved.
"They're smiling, they're happy, and it's amazing the transformation, even in a matter of a couple of days," Allen said.
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